First full school year for Eanes ISD police department

Austin (KXAN) — As students and teachers return to the classroom, Eanes Independent School District police officers are reporting for their first full school year since the department was formed in 2023.

Chief of Police Matt Greer said 11 officers are on the force -- enough for each campus to have one officer on site and more than one at Westlake High School.

Greer retired from the Austin Police Department before coming to Eanes ISD. He said it's a different experience patrolling the halls than patrolling the streets.

"The officers that are actually on the campuses, they're giving high fives and hugs. They [the students] know the officers, and the officers know the students by name. It's really amazing to see," Greer said.

Eanes ISD's police force was green-lit by the district's board of trustees last summer, swearing in nine officers this past spring.

The creation of the department aligned with House Bill 3 that went into effect for Texas districts last fall.

The law requires districts to have an armed security officer on campus during regular school hours.

At an August meeting, Texas Education Agency (TEA) Commissioner Mike Morath addressed the Texas House committee on public education.

During his update, Morath told lawmakers that districts had sufficient funds to kickstart measures to bulk up security measures. However, more money would likely be needed in the future to keep safety programs going.

"If you have a sworn peace officer, that's going to run you north of $80,000 from salary, plus benefits, training. This is, I think, worthy of attention for y'all as you consider tweaks to this finance formulas as to whether or not you would increase that that annual expenditure to cover their ongoing safety labor costs," Morath said.

Greer said he's grateful that his department is fully staffed and is excited to continue its mission of keeping schools safe and supporting students.

"This is not traditional law enforcement. What we do here on the campus is much more about building relationships and mentoring students," Greer said.